Best Trip Yet!

We had a wonderful week visiting my family in M*ssachusetts.  Sarah was one happy, sweet, cooperative, joy-to-be-around girl, overall.  Sure, there were a couple of bedtime battles, but those are to be expected with a three-year-old who's having the time of her life. 

About mid-trip, Sarah asked when we were flying back to W*sconsin. When I said, "Wednesday," she responded, "No, Friday." She knows her days of the week pretty well, so I'm convinced she wanted to lengthen our stay. As Wednesday drew nearer, she kept asking, "Why do we have to go home?" and as soon as Grammy left us at the airport, she said she wanted to go visit again. I'd call that a successful trip.

As for me, it was the first time since Sarah arrived that I actually felt as though I was on vacation. She was so happy playing with her cousins, Grammy, aunts, and uncles, that she expected very little of me. We went a lot of places, and most afternoons, she fell asleep in the car right before we got home. I sat on the front porch reading or doing a crossword puzzle while keeping an eye on her. It was blissful. My mom, bless her heart, took care of us in her usual exemplary fashion, so I got a real break.

Sarah is a pro at flying by now and loves every minute.  She settles into her window seat and takes out the safety card to look at the pictures of the plane.  She then finds the page in the in-flight magazine that shows the airline's fleet and compares the sizes of all the planes.  That keeps her occupied until the beverage service starts, then she gets apple juice with ice and a straw and enjoys peanuts and tiny pretzels.  She can pass much of a two-and-a-half-hour flight with these activities alone.  She usually falls asleep on the final descent to the airport.

When we arrived Thursday afternoon, we went right from the airport to see Auntie Heather, Forrest, Sam, and Kelley.  Sarah was shy for about a nano-second then started rough-housing with her cousins.  She was thrilled to see them.

Grammy knows her granddaughter well.  She had a basket of goodies waiting at her house that included a box of 80 envelopes and an assortment of sticky notes.  Sarah carried the box of envelopes around like a treasured stuffed animal, occasionally offering one to someone as a token of affection.  She took sticky notes in the car whenever we left, in case we went somewhere "where the toilets don't have flushers" (i.e., have automatic ones that need to be covered so they don't engage while Sarah's still sitting).

On Friday, we stopped by the regional office of the F*sh & W*ldlife Service so I could see some old friends (and introduce them to Sarah).  Sarah went out to eat with Grammy and Auntie Heather while I had lunch with my former supervisor, who now works there.  It was great to catch up with her (she adopted her daughter from K*zakhstan eight years ago) and explore opportunities for me to return to work for the Service in N*w England.  I hope something will come through in the next couple of years.

Auntie Heather, Uncle Brian, the cousins, Auntie Chelsey, and Uncle George all came for dinner Friday night.  Sarah was thrilled and exclaimed at the table, "My whole family's here!"  She then said grace, as she did every night.  (Sometimes it's her bedtime prayer, but no one seems to mind.)  She kept Uncle Brian busy searching for coins (which only he can find) behind her ears.

Cousin Kelley spent the night Friday night, and Sarah had fun looking at photo albums and decorating envelopes with him the next morning.  She loves family photos -- I think she finds them comforting.  She spends lots of time looking through photo books at home, and she located Grammy's right away and perused them many times a day.  I've decided to put them on our "must pack" list from now on and am hopeful they'll make future trips go more smoothly.

Saturday, we went tag saling with Grammy, Kelley, and Sam, then had lunch at my sister's.  That evening, we watched The Muppet Movie with Grammy -- Sarah's first full-length film.  She didn't seem overly interested in it but made it to the credits.

Sunday, we drove about an hour to visit my brother and sister-in-law's future home, which is under reconstruction.  It's coming along nicely, and they hope to move in in early July.  After two years of ups and downs, they will be the happiest homeowners around the first night they spend there.

Monday, it was off to the F*rest P*rk Zoo with the cousins, where we all sweated in the 90-degree heat and tried to guess what the unidentified animals were.  I wasn't impressed.  Kelley and Sam had to try the Hurricane Simulator, which was entertaining for all of us.  After a picnic lunch, some of us headed to the H*lyoke Merry-Go-Round.  It was as big a hit this year as last year.

That night, Grammy, Sarah, and I went to the W*lliamsburg Snack Bar for dinner.  It's actually just a shack in a parking lot, with picnic tables for dining, but the food is wonderful.  I had hoped for a lobster roll, but they were sold out, so I "settled" for the scallop dinner.  I haven't had fried scallops in decades, and they were yummy. 

Right next-door is the Village Gr**n greenhouse and ice cream stand, with a little playground. Sarah's cousins were going to the climbing wall at the Y the next day, and Sarah was disappointed that she wasn't old enough to participate. Luckily, there was a little wall on the playground, and she had fun mastering it. After that, it was ice cream time!

Tuesday, we went to L**k Park, and Grammy and Sarah rode the train.  Sarah loved it!  It's such a cute train, and I remember riding it as a kid.  Fortunately, there were no big kids onboard to scream when it went through the tunnel.  I don't think Sarah would have appreciated that.

Following the train ride, Sarah and Grammy dropped me off in the center of N*rthampton for a dose of diversity and diversion.  I love that town.  Iced mocha in hand, I wandered Main St. and Th*rnes Market, hoping to soak up enough of the liberal milieu to last until my next visit.

I hitched a ride home with Heather and Forrest, and we all enjoyed our final afternoon together.  Sarah played hide-and-seek with her cousins and aunt, and I got some nice family photos.  George and Chelsey came for dinner, and Chelsey played yet more hide-and-seek with Sarah in the living room afterward.

On Wednesday, it was time to come home.  Sarah settled back into her routine without any adjustment period (going to bed easily, sleeping all night).  What a long way we've come!  Our time in M*ss. has fueled my desire to move back there, though.  As hard as it would be to leave our five acres, seeing my family frequently would be invaluable to Sarah.  She needs to be among her tribe.

Speaking of Eggs...

...we're back in business.  The chicks we got in October are now grown, and they started laying a few weeks ago.  After selling half of them on Cr*ig's List when they were partially grown, we have a small, diverse flock.  My best guess is that our egg-layers are two Light Brahmas, two Barred Rocks, four Americaunas (who lay green/blue eggs), a Silver-gray D*rking, and a Rh*de Island Red.  It's so nice to be eating fresh eggs again.

We unintentionally ended up with two roosters.  We knew we had a Rh*de Island R*d, but it became apparent a while ago that the large black chicken is no hen.  We may have to sell one of them, as they will likely start to fight (in addition to making twice the noise at daybreak).  The red one is borderline aggressive and makes me nervous when I tend the flock.  He's the one I'd like to see go, as I want to feel comfortable letting Sarah collect eggs.  Don thinks he's a good defender of the hens, however.  I believe the other one is a Black L*ngshan, a breed from Ch*na.  He is gorgeous and docile.  I think he's the keeper.

We've been getting up to eight eggs a day, so we're back to selling the surplus.  At noon on Fridays, we put a cooler out front and accept goodwill donations, which are used to support Sarah's and my tag saling habit.  Keep up the good work, girls!

The world would be a better place if more people kept chickens. Watching them stroll around the pen, eating bugs and grass and softly clucking to one another, soothes my soul.  Dogs and cats get credit for lowering their owners' blood pressure, but our chickens are more dependable in that area than our house pets, who often raise mine. 

Easter 2012

We had a full holiday week, with three more egg hunts, a party, egg coloring, a couple of baskets, and, of course, church. 

At our play group's Easter party, Sarah blew bubbles herself for the first time.  One of the younger girls helped her celebrate by trying to catch all the bubbles.  Sarah and I helped hide eggs for the hunt, a responsibility she took very seriously.  The girl loves a job! 


 



Sarah's basket from Grammy arrived on Thursday, with instructions to wait until Easter to open.  That just wouldn't do, so she called Grammy to request special permission.  Grammy acquiesced, of course, and Sarah set to work unpacking.  "More M&Ms, and more M&Ms, and more M&Ms, and more M&Ms!"  Not mention peanut butter eggs, maple sugar, a candy ring, and a marshmallow P**p.  Grammy must think the E*ster Bunny is short on candy.



Saturday morning, we colored eggs.  I decided to try some natural dyes this year.  I boiled some red cabbage for blue and used turmeric for yellow.  I really liked the subtle, earthy colors (see the eggs in the lower left-hand corner of the photo).  Next year, I'll have to get more ambitious.



We started a new tradition this year.  I knitted and felted an E*ster basket for Sarah, and we put it out for the Bunny to fill.  I figured if it worked for Santa, it would work for EB. 

Sarah was full of questions at bedtime, and I had a feeling she might be up early.  At 10:45 p.m., she called me and said she had to go potty.  She hasn't awakened at night to use the bathroom in months, so I was a little suspicious.  I thought she might try to go to the living room to see if the basket had been filled, but she returned to bed and just asked if he'd come yet.  I said, "No," and tucked her in.

A little after midnight, she called me again and asked if it was morning.  It was starting to look as though it would be a long night.  I told her she had to go to sleep for the Bunny to come and went back to bed.  She managed to make it until a little after 6:00.

EB must have known she's been wanting a flute, because he brought the next best thing -- a recorder.  She was thrilled and would have played it all day, if I hadn't set time limits.  She loved the chocolate bunny, too, and his ears didn't last long.  She found most of the hidden eggs fairly easily and was searching much farther afield than I expected.  Obviously, EB underestimated her skills in that area.  Although some eggs contained stickers and money, the few with jelly beans were the most prized.

(Of course, I remembered in the middle of the night that we'd neglected to put on her new pajamas for Easter morning photos.)

Our new church has services at 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. on Easter, with breakfast in between, so we decided to join our fellow congregants for the morning meal.  When we arrived a little after 8:00, everyone was seated and eating.  Newcomers' mistake!  Of course, Sarah's Sunday School teacher jumped up and served us cheerily.  Next year, we'll know better (whether that means arriving earlier or eating at home, we haven't decided). 

When it came time for the children's time with the minister, Sarah marched up on her own and returned triumphant, as people cheered her on.  During the rest of the service, she enjoyed a few jelly beans that she'd wisely brought along in her bunny purse.

When we got home, I took some more shots of Sarah outside.  The bright sun washed out the colors in her dress, but she still out-shown the flowers! 

 

We wrapped up the day with a ham dinner and rhubarb crisp for dessert -- a real treat courtesy of the freak warm spell we had a few weeks ago.



A Girl and Her Donkeys

A Big Weekend

The last few days have been busy for us, with events both big and small worth mentioning.

First, Don and I continued our new ritual of playing chess on Friday evenings.  Instead of sitting in front of the TV and flipping between our three public television and two old movie channels (no cable), we now nurture our middle-aged noggins with a game that he loves but hasn't played in decades and I attempted in high school but never mastered.  This was our second week, and I awarded myself "Most Improved" since I was able to survive a full hour before he captured my king.

Saturday morning, we attended our first E*ster egg h*nt of the year.  Unfortunately, the balmy weather we enjoyed a couple of weeks ago was long gone, and hats and mittens were the order of the day.  Sarah was super excited and had a blast.  She was still in the 0-3 age group, so she had a distinct advantage this year.  After collecting about a dozen, she decided to leave the rest for the other kids.  She was pleased with her haul of T**tsie rolls, chocolate eggs, and a tattoo.  When we got home, she rushed to the bathroom to apply the tattoo all by herself.

Saturday was also "Date Night" for Mom and Dad.  Sarah adores her babysitter and was at least as excited as we were.  I decided it was time to try having Kelsey put Sarah to bed.  I wasn't optimistic it would work, but I figured we had to start somewhere, and just having her ready for bed when we returned would be nice.

Don and I weren't enthused about our movie options but decided to give The H*nger G*mes a try, since it's gotten so much hype.  We figured, if nothing else, we'd be up on pop culture for a week or so.  We were pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the movie, despite its dark premise.  The largely teenaged audience must have liked it, as well, as they were silent throughout.

After dinner at our favorite pizza place, we headed home to see how the big experiment had gone.  When the house appeared dark as we approached, I figured Sarah had kept Kelsey reading books in her room, which is on the back side of the house.  When we entered, however, Kelsey was sitting quietly in the living room, and Sarah was sound asleep!  Kelsey said she turned out the lights, and Sarah didn't make a peep.  That girl is full of surprises these days.

I feel as though a whole new world has opened to us.  We can actually stay out later than 8:00 if we want.  Not that we're night owls or social butterflies, but we do get invited to a party every year or so, and now we can stay as long as we want.  The upside for Kelsey is that she no longer has to entertain Sarah for five or six hours when we go out.  We can do "dinner and a movie" in that order, and Kelsey can spend half her shift relaxing.  The icing on the cake is that Kelsey just got her driver's license, so we don't even have to drive her home.  As long as she can make time for us once a month, we've got it made.

As if one milestone wasn't enough, Sarah had another surprise in store Sunday morning in church.  During the service, the minister spends a few minutes talking with the kids in the front of the church.  Sarah has always insisted that I come with her and sit in the front row, while she sits on the step with the other kids.  Yesterday, when the time came, she turned to me and said, "Mom, some day I'll just go up and see Pastor Betsy by myself, and you can sit with Daddy."  I said, "Do you want to try it today?" and she said, "Okay" and trotted down the aisle. 

As luck would have it, since it was P*lm Sunday, there more kids in church than usual, and Sarah couldn't find a place to sit when she got up front.  She ran back to me and said, "Where do I sit?"  I escorted her back up, got her situated, and decided to stay, just in case she lost her nerve.  Instead of listening to the minister, she spent the whole time telling me, in a stage whisper, to go back to my seat.  Once she sets her mind to something.... 

Watching Sarah march away from me was one of my proudest moments so far.  It's taken so long for her to feel safe in the world, and I am elated for her.  I'm not alone.  During coffee time, the minister and other members of the congregation shared their joy, as well (Sarah has a broad fan base).  I no longer fear 4K this fall.  It will be a big step, but I feel confident now that Sarah will be able to handle it just as every other four-year-old does.  What a relief.

After lunch, Sarah decided to take a nap during quiet time (her act of bravery wore her out).  When she got up, she was ready to help Mom and Dad spread bark mulch on the flower gardens.  She is such a hard worker!

All in all, a banner weekend for our little family.  This week holds an Easter party with our playgroup, another egg hunt, and the Big Day itself.  Next week, Sarah and I head to M*ssachusetts to visit my family.  The winter doldrums are definitely behind us!